Safe and Healthy Youth

Opening address at the Safe and Healthy Youth Project Meeting with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

By Simon Hills, Officer-in-Charge & Employment and Livelihood Development Officer of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines at the Safe and Healthy Youth Project Meeting with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Quezon City Philippines, 19 January 2016

Statement | Quezon City, Philippines | 19 January 2016
  • Undersecretary Chato and Undesecretary Lagunzad of DOLE 
  • Director Curada of the Bureau of Working Conditions,
  • Director Cucueco and Director Batino of Occupational Safety and Health Center
  • Representatives of DOLE Field Offices in Metro Manila and Region III, ILAB and BLR, good afternoon!
Thank you very much for finding time to attend this meeting, which relates to the implementation of the ILO’s United States Department of Labor (USDOL)-funded project on Building a Generation of Safe and Health Workers – Safe and Healthy Youth.

This is a global project funded by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) which was granted to the ILO in Geneva on 19 December 2014. Last year, the project focused on the inception phase not only in the Philippines, but in other parts of the globe to comply with the donor’s technical requirements.

The project in the Philippines was given clearance by our donor on December last year to pursue implementation this year. As our office implements this global project, we recognize the need to be more strategic with our key partners such as the DOLE and its bureaus and agencies.

Firstly, it will be helpful if we can facilitate the inclusion of the project priorities in the DOLE work plan and updating of the Labor and Employment Plan (LEP). For instance, pushing for the ratification of key International Labour Standards on Occupational Safety and Health. Secondly, given the upcoming national and local elections, we need to be more realistic of the activities we can implement this year. Lastly, we need to strengthen cooperation between and among the DOLE bureaus and its specialized agencies given the four components of the project; clearly identifying the focal offices or officials for the project is critical to its success. Further strengthening social dialogue with trade unions and employers’ organizations is likewise important to have a balance discussion on OSH-related matters we would like to be addressed.

Our meeting this afternoon has two agenda to particularly give importance on points that call for DOLE management’s decision, and also focus on the technical requirements of the project in relation to monitoring and evaluation. Please feel free to share your views as we proceed with the discussions and the project team will accordingly respond to your queries.

Thank you and I look forward to a productive afternoon!



Funding is provided by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL-26690-14-75-K-11.

This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. One hundred percentage of the total costs of the project or programme is financed with Federal funds, for a total of 11,443,156 dollars.